Wellbores may be drilled into a surface location or seabed for a variety of exploratory or extraction purposes. For example, a wellbore may be drilled to access fluids, such as liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons, stored in subterranean formations and to extract the fluids from the formations. The formations through which the wellbore passes can be evaluated for a variety of properties, including the presence of hydrocarbon reservoirs in the formation, and the direction of the wellbore may be altered to optimize the location of the well in the formation. Wellbores may be drilled using a drill bit attached to the downhole end of a string of drill pipe. A directional drilling assembly may steer the drill bit through the formations based on information collected from the surrounding formations and measurements regarding the position and/or performance of the drilling system collected at the surface or below the surface.
For example, a bottomhole assembly may include one or more sensors at or near the drill bit, the directional drilling assembly, or other components of the bottomhole assembly. The sensors may monitor the performance of the bottomhole assembly and provide information regarding the navigation of the drill bit and bottomhole assembly through the formations. The information may be received by a computing device or by an operator that may interpret the information to steer the drill bit to form the wellbore.
The one or more sensors may be part of a measurements-while-drilling (“MWD”) tool. The MWD tool may be a component of the bottomhole assembly and may be connected in series with other components of the bottomhole assembly including a motor, a logging-while-drilling (“LWD”) tool, the drill bit, the directional drilling assembly, a communications module, or other components. Each additional component included in the bottomhole assembly increases the length of the bottomhole assembly and introduces a connection that may be a potential failure point. The length of the bottomhole assembly affects the ability of the drilling system to navigate the formations and drill the wellbore.